Pericranial tenderness in tension headache. A blind, controlled study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Pain Medicine
• Musculoskeletal Research

Background:

• Tension-type headache is a prevalent neurological disorder.
• The role of pericranial muscle tenderness in tension-type headache pathophysiology requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively assess pericranial muscle tenderness in patients with tension-type headache.
• To compare tenderness levels between tension-type headache patients and healthy controls.
• To explore the relationship between muscle tenderness and headache intensity.

Main Methods:

• A blinded observer palpated 10 pericranial muscles on each side of 40 tension-type headache patients and 40 healthy controls.
• Tenderness was rated using a four-point scale, generating a Total Tenderness Score.
• Statistical analysis was performed to compare tenderness between groups and correlate it with headache intensity.

Main Results:

• Tension-type headache patients demonstrated significantly higher Total Tenderness Scores than controls.
• Elevated tenderness was observed in each individual pericranial muscle point in patients.
• A positive correlation was found between headache intensity and Total Tenderness Score in patients with daily headaches.

Conclusions:

• Pathologic pericranial muscle tenderness is a significant finding in tension-type headache.
• Muscle tenderness is likely a source of nociception in tension-type headache, though pain mechanisms are complex.
• Pathologic tenderness should be considered a contributing diagnostic criterion for tension-type headache (muscle contraction headache).